South Africa : Motlanthe meets Elders delegation to discuss Zimbabwe

By Luyanda Makapela

Johannesburg - President Kgalema Motlanthe will on Monday meet with the Elders delegation to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe including the recent Cholera outbreak.

According to the Presidency on Sunday, Mr Motlanthe will meet with former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former United States President Jimmy Carter and international advocate for women's and children's rights Graca Machel at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand to discuss Zimbabwe.

According to media reports, former US President Carter said on Saturday that he and others planning a humanitarian mission in Zimbabwe had been refused entry in the country.

Mr Carter, Mr Annan and Ms Machel had planned to assess the country's humanitarian needs as Zimbabweans are stalked by disease and hunger while political crisis occupies its politicians.

But on Friday night, the delegation was informed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the political crisis, that those efforts to secure travel visas for the group had failed, Mr Carter told reporters at a news conference in Johannesburg.

"We are very disappointed that the government of Zimbabwe would not permit us to come in, would not cooperate," he said.

It was the first time the 2002 Nobel Peace laureate has been denied permission to carry out a mission in any country, he said.

Mr Annan, also at the news conference, said no official reason had been given for the refusal.

He said they read about it in Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper, which reported Thursday that the group had been asked to "come at a later date" to accommodate the crop planting season.

The article also said, however, that the group was seen as aggressive toward Zimbabwe's government.

The Elders humanitarian group, formed by former South African President Nelson Mandela, said the trip was entirely separate from regional attempts to get Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his rivals to implement a power-sharing agreement stalled since September.

Human-rights activist Ms Machel said the Elders had planned to meet people and hear first-hand about the scale of the humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday, the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development established three dehydration centres at the Beit Bridge border post to help treat Zimbabweans who have been diagnosed with Cholera and arrived in South Africa seeking medical help.

Speaking to BuaNews on Monday, departmental spokesperson Phuti Seloba said three people, including a South African who did business in Zimbabwe, have since died of the disease at the Musina Hospital on Tuesday, where 27 other people have been receiving treatment.

"The situation is still being monitored at this stage with three other people critical patients currently receiving treatment at the hospital," said Mr Seloba.

He said since the outbreak of Cholera on 22 November 2008, 168 people were affected by the disease. - BuaNews